Inspection Detail

Inspection: 105599047 - Food 4 Less

Inspection Information - Office: Utah Division Of Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

At 7:30 a.m. on August 10, 1989, Employee #1, who had been working for one month as a stock boy, was in the rear of a store emptying the cardboard box baler. When the baler is activated, two wire chains are attached to the bottom front of a bale and then run up its back. The chain rise causes the bale to rotate up and out onto a pallet positioned in front of the baler. At the time of the accident, a bale coming out onto the pallet began to sway. When the employee tried to stop it from rocking, he jammed his arm between the bale and a pallet of food. This caused his wrist to be bent backward, fracturing it. The compactor has safety doors with interlocks and the ON button must be held down during the operation. The employee had to move very fast to get in the position in which the accident occurred.

Keywords: FRACTURE, WORK RULES, CAUGHT BETWEEN, BALER, PALLET, WRIST